Atlanta Falcons Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Falcons WR Drake London (groin) won't practice on Wednesday, HC Arthur Smith said. Smith added that they'll "see how the week goes" with London and that he's "got a chance" to play vs. the Vikings this weekend. We'll keep an eye on his progress over the next few days.

Falcons HC Arthur Smith announced Wednesday that QB Taylor Heinicke will start Sunday against the Vikings. It's not a shocking move after the team pulled QB Desmond Ridder from the Week 8 loss to the Titans. Ridder has largely struggled outside of a 329-yard passing effort in the Week 5 win over Houston. Since that game, he has tossed just 2 TD passes vs. 3 INTs across three contests, while also taking a sack on nearly 10% of dropbacks and losing 4 fumbles. Heinicke went an OK 12-of-21 (57.1%) for 175 yards (8.3 per attempt) after taking over against Tennessee. His 9.7 average target depth in that contest -- according to Pro Football Refernce -- was about 2 yards deeper than Ridder's season rate of 7.8. Pro Football Focus credits Heinicke with a career 8.8-yard average depth of target and 9.2-yard aDOT with the Commanders last season. Heinicke's career 63.7% completion rate comes in short of Ridder's (64.8%), and we've seen enough to know he won't bring consistent efficiency. But a daring downfield thrower could boost the fantasy production of Falcons WR Drake London and TE Kyle Pitts ... if Arthur Smith will allow the offense to exploit those skills. (And assuming London's groin injury doesn't linger, of course.) We're not significantly upgrading our outlooks for any Falcons offensive pieces on this switch. But a move away from Ridder at least allows for some optimism. We'll see whether London's able to play this week -- and then how Heinicke fares in his first Atlanta start. The Minnesota matchup looks fairly neutral for Falcons passing.

A Monday MRI confirmed that Vikings QB Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles in the Week 8 win over the Packers, NFL Network reports. Cousins will miss the rest of the 2023 season. His contract is set to void in March, and Cousins will turn 36 in August, leaving his football future very uncertain. The Vikings, meanwhile, are left with QBs Jaren Hall and Sean Mannion for now. QB Nick Mullens, who at least has 655 NFL pass attempts under his belt, is eligible to come off IR next week. We'll see if Minnesota makes a move for a free-agent QB or swings a trade before tomorrow's trade deadline. Regardless, Cousins' absence is bad news for all of the team's skill-position players.

Falcons HC Arthur Smith said Monday that the groin WR Drake London suffered in Sunday's loss to the Titans "wasn't as bad as we thought," according to Tori McElhaney of the team website. Smith added that they'll watch London through the week, indicating he has at least a chance to play Sunday against the Vikings. We'll also keep an eye on London's status throughout the week ... and another on what Atlanta plans to do at QB.

Falcons DT Grady Jarrett suffered an ACL tear in Sunday's loss to the Titans, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. He'll obviously miss the rest of the season and then try to return at age 31. The Jarrett injury, at least, shouldn't have much IDP impact. He had just 1.5 sacks and 9 solo tackles through eight games.

Falcons WR Drake London hauled 5 of his team-high 7 targets for 55 receiving yards in Week 8’s loss vs. the Titans. TEs Kyle Pitts and Jonnu Smith struggled on Sunday, however, with a combined 4 catches and 48 yards between them. It’s fair to estimate that perhaps some of these struggles can be attributed to the Falcons going from QB Desmond Ridder to backup Taylor Heinicke midway through the game. Still, this was not a particularly strong performance from Atlanta’s aerial attack. Projecting these pass-catchers for their upcoming matchup against the Vikings will be tough to do until we know who will be under center in Week 9.

Falcons RB Bijan Robinson rebounded in Week 8 vs. the Titans, tallying 62 rushing yards and a TD on 11 carries. The rookie also saw 5 targets in the contest but didn’t record a single reception. Overall, this level of involvement is a considerable improvement over last week’s dud vs. the Buccaneers. It seems wherever ailment prevented Robinson from seeing more touches in Week 7 is behind him. Fantasy managers should feel confident firing up the rookie in lineups next weekend vs. the Vikings.

Vikings QB Kirk Cousins is feared to have torn his Achilles in Sunday's win over the Packers, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. It's typically easy for doctors to diagnose a torn Achilles without any imaging. We should get confirmation tomorrow, but Cousins' 2023 season is very likely over. His absence would leave Minnesota with QBs Jaren Hall and Sean Mannion. QB Nick Mullens is currently on IR with a back injury but is eligible to return. Regardless, Cousins' injury is horrible news for Minnesota's skill-position players.

Vikings QB Kirk Cousins suffered a right ankle injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Packers. He put no weight on the leg getting off the field and was carted to the locker room. We'll update Cousins' status when we know more. He's been replaced by rookie QB Jaren Hall.

Falcons WR Drake London suffered a groin injury in the third quarter of Sunday's game vs. the Titans. He's officially questionable to return. We'll update London's status when we know more.

The lights of primetime weren’t too bright for Vikings QB Kirk Cousins in Week 7. The veteran completed 35 of 45 passes for 378 yards with 2 TDs and 1 INT in Monday night’s win vs. the 49ers. Despite missing talented WR Justin Jefferson for the second game in a row, Cousins’ passing yardage total from Week 7 is the highest he’s recorded in a game since Week 15 of 2022 vs. the Colts (460). 2023 hasn’t been as kind to the Vikings as last season, but it’s worth mentioning that Cousins still sits as the QB7 in fantasy points per game this year. Next week, he’ll have an opportunity to be a quality fantasy starter vs. the Packers.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport says Falcons RB Bijan Robinson "won't be affected" by the headaches that wiped him out of Week 7's game vs. the Bucs. "Not something long-term that's gonna affect him. Not something that's gonna affect him next week," Rapoport added. Robinson averaged 13.3 carries and 5.3 targets over the first six games of the season and should be back in a similar role vs. the Titans this Sunday.

Falcons RB Bijan Robinson said after the win over the Bucs that he played sparingly because of a consistent headache, per Terrin Waack of the team's official website. "It (started) last night. I was feeling weird," Robinson said. "I woke up, just completely out of it. I tried to take medicine so I could be good for the game. But my head was hurting. Bad. I don't know what was going on. I tried to go in pregame, but then coach (Arthur) Smith said, 'We'll be all right. Let's get you right.'" We'll keep an eye on Robinson's status this coming week, but he should be back in his usual role for next Sunday's game vs. the Titans.

Falcons TE Kyle Pitts was quiet for the majority of Sunday's game vs. the Bucs, catching just two balls in the first 59 minutes. But he broke loose for a 39-yard catch and run with under a minute to go to set up K Younghoe Koo's game-winning FG. Pitts was the victim of a run-heavy attack from the Falcons. QB Desmond Ridder threw it just 25 times, with four of those (16%) going to Pitts. That's the risk with any part of this Falcons passing game. The good news is that Week 8 brings a Titans defense that's much tougher against the run than the pass. That should push Atlanta to throw it more than usual. Pitts remains a lower-end TE1 going forward.

Tyler Allgeier operated as the Falcons' workhorse RB in Tampa Bay on Sunday, with RB Bijan Robinson barely playing due to an illness. Allgeier struggled to get anything going on the ground, totaling just 59 yards on 21 carries. He added 53 yards on three catches, most of that coming on a 46-yard catch and run in the fourth quarter. We'll look for further updates on Robinson but would expect Allgeier to be back in his prior role next week. He averaged 12.5 carries and 1.7 targets over the first six games of the season. Week 8 brings a tough matchup vs. the Titans' ninth-ranked RB defense.

Falcons RB Bijan Robinson went without a touch in the first half of Sunday's game at Tampa. After the break came word from HC Arthur Smith that the rookie is "just not feeling all that great," according to Tori McElhaney of the team website. "Don't expect him to play much more," she added. Woulda been nice if fantasy players could have heard that before the game started.

Congratulations if you started Falcons WR Drake London in your lineup. The second-year wideout exploded with 9 catches on 12 targets with a career-high 125 receiving yards in Week 6 vs. the Commanders. TE Kyle Pitts also had a strong outing, hauling 4 catches for 46 yards and a TD in the loss. Sunday marks the first time Pitts has recorded a TD since Week 8 of last season. TE Jonnu Smith again returned some solid fantasy production with a 4-36-1 receiving line. The Falcons’ offense has been frustrating for managers this season, though recent efforts from the past couple of weeks have helped to assuage some concerns. We’ll see if they can keep this up in Week 7 vs. the Buccaneers.

Falcons RB Tyler Allgeier recorded 13 carries for a team-leading 51 rushing yards in Week 6’s loss vs. the Commanders. His rookie teammate Bijan Robinson logged an equal number of carries with 31 rushing yards and roped in 5 of 8 targets for 43 receiving yards as a pass-catcher in the contest. Though the Falcons’ run game wasn’t super effective on Sunday, Robinson’s contributions in the receiving game elevated him to 13 PPR points. Fantasy managers can hope for a better outing in Week 7 vs. the Buccaneers.

Vikings QB Kirk Cousins threw for just 181 yards and 1 TD in the first game since losing WR Justin Jefferson to a hamstring injury. He took just 2 sacks and avoided throwing any INTs against the Bears. But Cousins did fumble twice, losing one of them. Rain didn't turn out to be an issue, and the wind didn't appear strong enough to be the whole problem here. Throw in how poorly the Chicago defense had played through the first five weeks, and this marks a worrisome performance -- especially with the 49ers coming to town in Week 7. Cousins already sits well outside the top 12 in our Week 7 QB rankings.

Falcons TE Kyle Pitts had easily his best game of the season in the Week 5 win over the Texans. He led Atlanta with 11 targets, seven catches, and 87 yards. Pitts benefitted from the Falcons running 74 plays and throwing it 38 times. But his 28.9% target share was a season-high. The strong game comes just a few days after HC Arthur Smith admitted that Pitts still isn't back to 100% after last November's knee injury. He looked as healthy as he has all season in this one, though, making catches of 16, 18, and 20 yards. He won't get this type of passing volume most weeks, but Pitts is still capable of helping fantasy squads if he's past that knee issue. Next up is a Washington defense that just got smoked by the Bears.